Fred Dicker accurately describes the sorry state of affairs in Albany (“Albany, I Give Up,” PostScript, July 5).

The state Legislature has become a dysfunctional and ineffective body.

All this happens while taxpayers get mired down in a worsening economy, with an expectation that they tolerate the political foolishness.

Perhaps now is the time to consider breaking up the Empire State into two distinct regions, Upstate and Downstate.

Let the debate begin.

Carl Worden

Caledonia

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Dicker must not give up. He must continue to document chaotic Albany as only he can until the next election.

The public must not lose sight of the incompetence, corruption, childish bickering, lack of leadership and lack of ethics in today’s Albany.

The Albany clowns have made it exceedingly clear that they don’t care about New Yorkers. We are obligated to respond by not caring about them in the next election.

New York, once the flagship state of the union, has the most incompetent governor and dysfunctional governing body of any of the 50 states. Dysfunctional Albany is the end result of a liberal voting agenda, and it is a microcosm of things to come in a dysfunctional DC.

Elio Valenti

Brooklyn

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“Albany, I Give Up” illustrates what’s been going on for years behind closed doors, but what has now seeped into public awareness.

Years ago, there was a movie about 1776 that includes a scene during the ratification of the Declaration of Independence where the New York representative kept abstaining.

Finally, in frustration, one of the other delegates essentially asks: “What’s with your state?” The reply was to the effect of: “Sir, my state’s so screwed up, we’ve no clue of what we’re doing.”

The only difference is that, until recently, this nonsense had been largely confined to Albany. It’s long past time that we act as the boss and remove these employees.

Harry Alvarez

Long Island City

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I don’t disagree with a single thought from Dicker. My only question would be: “What took so long?”

The stalemate in Albany is not the problem — if we’d had such a stalemate for the last 30 years, New York would probably be in a better fiscal position.

The problem is that the politicians have no basic economic, financial or common sense on spending and taxes.

The leader of the Assembly, someone who wants to make New York state safe for slip- and-fall trial lawyers, states that he sees no proof that raising taxes in New York causes people to leave the state. Yes, all those New Yorkers fleeing to Florida for the last 40 years are all one big right-wing conspiracy.

The Democrats in Albany are content to continue to drive the taxpayers of this state off a cliff, and the main GOP argument seems to be: Vote for us, we’ll drive off the cliff more slowly.

Frank Bifulco

Pomona

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The disgraceful situation in the state Senate needs to be addressed by the people of New York.

The only acceptable solution is to recall all the senators. Part of the deal should be that none of these selfish clowns may ever run for public office again.

I strongly suspect that the voters would throw these selfish and ineffective so-called leaders out in a heartbeat.

Peter C. Welch

Carmel

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Dicker’s article regarding the mess in Albany is probably the only demonstration of integrity to emanate from that city in the past 10 years — except, of course, Dicker’s previous reporting.

John O’Sullivan

Kings Park

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I don’t know why everyone is up in arms about the circus in Albany. Any day these politicians don’t work, they can’t pass dumb laws or spend money we don’t have.